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Math Worth Reading
Monthly Archives: December 2010
What Math?
As should be clear by now, I love mathematics. I like working through problems, and I enjoy the insights that can come from a good understanding of mathematical logic. Moreover, I strongly believe that mathematics is essential to a strong … Continue reading
What’s Wrong with Teacher Education?
I am of the opinion that most teacher education programs in the United States (and probably elsewhere, as well) do a fairly poor job of actually preparing teachers to teach. My main complaint is that the transition from student to … Continue reading
The Slide Rule
Arithmetical computations can be tedious and time consuming. Moreover, even simple operations like addition and multiplication can involve a large number of steps, each of which is prone to human error. It makes sense, then, that people would try to … Continue reading
Little White Lies
A little inaccuracy sometimes saves a ton of explanation. —H. H. Munro I have a confession to make: I lie to my students. Not only that, I do it all of the time. More scandalously, I’m not the only teacher … Continue reading
Vi Hart: Mathemusician
Today, I came across something—or, more appropriately, somone—that I can only describe as extraordinary: the charismatic and charming “mathamusician” Vi Hart. Vi is a musician with an interest in recreational mathematics (i.e. math done for fun). Of special note are … Continue reading
Is π Wrong?
Several years ago, I came across an interesting article [pdf] by Bob Palais. The basic premise of the article is that the numerical constant π is wrong. Unlike many mathematical cranks, Palais is not arguing that the computed value of … Continue reading